VUKOVAR, Feb 4(Hina) - The trial of eight Serbs charged with committing war crimes against civilians resumed before the County Court in the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar on Wednesday.
VUKOVAR, Feb 4(Hina) - The trial of eight Serbs charged with committing
war crimes against civilians resumed before the County Court in the
eastern Croatian town of Vukovar on Wednesday.#L#
Jovan Curcic, Milos Drzajic, Mladen Maksimovic, Dragan Savic (son of
Bogdan), Dragan Savic (son of Cedo), Zeljko Savic, Dusko Misic and
Jovica Vucenovic were members of the police force of the self-styled
Serb Autonomous District of Krajina and of the Borovo Territorial
Defence from August 1 to September 13, 1991 when they unlawfully
detained civilians in the basement of the police station and the fire
station in Borovo, just north of Vukovar, inflicting great suffering
on the prisoners through intimidation and inhumane treatment. Three of
the accused are on the run and are being tried in absentia.
The court today heard five new witnesses. Ivan Belaj was taken
prisoner as a police reservist in the Baranja region towards the end
of August 1991 and transferred to Borovo. He said that unknown persons
would come at night and drive prisoners to a building where they would
beat them with clubs, rifle-butts and pieces of cable. As a result of
the injuries suffered while in detention, Belaj is 40 percent
disabled. He said he remembered having seen the first defendant, Jovan
Curcic, in Borovo.
Witness Caslav Niksic was chairman of the Executive Council of the
Bijelo Brdo Local Commune in 1991. He said that in August 1991 he was
invited to a meeting in Borovo where a man called Branko Curcic, a
member of a special police unit from Serbia, told him they had come to
Borovo to set up a police station.
Witnesses Vladimir Gajic and Sreto Bogdanovic said they knew nothing
about people being detained and maltreated in Borovo, with the latter
adding that he did not even know who had been in charge of Borovo at
the time because he had been bed-ridden at home, ill with sheep
fever.
After testimony from Milos Eric, a new hearing was scheduled for
February 10 when new witnesses would give testimony.
(Hina) vm